Implement of agriculture.



B. VALE.

IMPLEMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Patented Sept. 8, 1914.

no I

INVEN TOR.

WITNESSES i To all whom it may concern IBAL IN van, or ALAMEDA. CALIFORNIA.

mrta'iusnr' on sa eness.

Be it know'n'thatT, BALDWIN VALE, acitizen of the "United-States, and a-resident of the cityhof Alameda,- county of Alameda,

and Sta-te of California, have inventednew and useful Improvementsin Implements of "Agriculture, of which "the following is a and has a wide range of usefulness.

specification.

This invention relates-toimprovements in implements of agriculture and more particu- "larly' to garden tools. Among the" many objects of this invention" are: to provide a hand tool forcultivating the soil, combining'simplicity and strength, 'that'is cheap to manufacture, symmetrical and commercially attractive in appearance,-

f" Other objects will be manifest 'to those {skilled in this art in the-practice of this invention. y

The invention possesses other advantageo-us' features, which, with the foregoing,

willbe set forth at length in the following descriptiomwhere I shall outline in full that form of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification.

The novelty of the invention will be included in the claims succeeding said description. From this, itwill be apparent that I do not restrict myself to the showing made by said drawings and description, as I may adoptmany variations within the scope of my invention as expressed 1n said claims. I

In the drawings: Figurel is aside elevation of a digging hoe constructed in accord ance with this invention. The concavedisk forming the hoe blade is shown in vertical cross section, certain of the parts being broken away to disclose underlying parts. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same parts, assembled for operation as a colter or turf cutter for the edges of lawns, and the like. The end of the disk mounting shank is broken away better to disclose the parts lying behind. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same parts assembled for operation as a scuffle hoe, for cutting the roots of weeds, etc., above or below the surface of the ground.

In detail, theconstruction of the tool consists of the flat or concave disk 1, preferably provided with a central opening and a circumferential cutting edge 2. The cheapest and most desirable way of forming this Specification of Letters latent. a licat on filed larch 17,1913. Serial No. 755,017.

Pat nted Sept. 8, 1914.

edge is to grind the disk on its truncate line forming the annular lane 3.

jlhe 'mountin for t 1edisk consists of the shank-5, provi ed with the enlargement 6,

adapted to be bolted, riveted, or otherwise secured to the disk. The shank terminates 1n the socket 7 to receive the helve or handie 8. Thls socket may be substituted by sharpening the shank and driving it into the handle as circumstances require.

Better to disclose the possibilities of this mventlon, I have chosen that form of combination shank shown, upon which the disk can be mounted in various positions at will.

This'-combination, while very desirable, is more expensive 111- that it calls for the bolt 9,

the thumb nut 10, and the sleeve 11. The

hole in the disk is preferably square to engage the square'shank 12 of the bolt, to prevent its turning in screwing on the thumbnut. I

When used in the position illustratedin Figs. 1 and 3, the sleeve 11 may be shorter than the thickness of the lugs 6 and 13, to hold the. disk rigidly to the shank; while the-thickness of the lug 14:. is less than the length of the sleeve 11, which causes the bolt and the thumb-nut to clamp the sleeve and thedisk rigidly together, the sleeve forming a spindle, rotatable within the lug 14 which permits the disk to rotate freely for a va-' riety of obvious uses.

As a chopping hoe, (see Fig.' 1) this invention has many advantages over the common flat bladed hoe, primarily greater strength and rigidity, permitting a much more effective cutting or digging stroke.

.Thisis due to the strength of the archlike concavity of the disk, the plane of the edge being substantially at right angles to the axis of the handle, combined with the rigidity of the disk and the fact that, while the efiective cutting edge of the disk is greater than that of a straight blade, the line of cleavage is Wedge-like and shearing in its action. Therefore, it is possible to drive the concave disk into hard ground from which a fiat hoe blade would simply rebound.

Another advantage of this disk hoe is that it can be used for cultivating between close rows of growing, plants with less danger of injury to the roots. The apex of the cutting edge being centered under the line of the handle, avery effective stroke can be given in attacking a single root. It is possible I obviously makes thedisk self sharpening.

The rolling colter illustrated in Fig. 2' is I very usefulin trimming the edges of lawns particularly around the fanciful outlines of landscape gardening, and in forming seed furrows for planting, etc.

The dotted line construction in Fig. 1

, illustrates another possible position of the disk, useful in hilling up soil around the roots, of'plants; it is also useful in smoothing and tamping the surface, taking the place of a small shovel or spade. The digging hoe assemblage is very useful in removing dirt from post holes, and also as a tamper. Other uses and advantages are suf- .ficiently nanifest.

. lowing claims thereto.

\V hile I have shown. and described the combinative construction of shank and assemblage, I do not wish tobe understood as thereby limiting this invention and the fol- A concave or fiat cutting disk may be attached to a handle by a-rious means, fixed or adjustable, and at various angles without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the claims herein.

I claim: y

1 An agricultural implement of the character described comprising a shank provided with a plurality of sockets angularly 1 'disposed with respect to each other, and all of them out ofalinement with the axis of said shank, a concavo convex disk, and means for securing said disk at its center to either of said sockets.

; 2.;-An agricultural implement of the character described comprising a shank the body of which is deflected in a continuous line I to form a plurality of angularly disposed portions each provided with a socket, a concavo-convex disk, and means for securin said disk at its center to either of sai sockets.

3. An agricultural implement of the character described comprising a shank having a socket in'one end, the other end being formed at an angle to said socket and also having a socket therein, and an angularly disposed member between said sockets and provided with a third socket, a concavec'onvex disk, and means for securing said disk at its center to either of the sockets of said angularly disposed portions.

- 4-. An agricultural implement of the character described comprising a shank provided with a plurality of sockets angularly disposed with respect to each other, and a third socket arranged in a plane at right angles to the plane of the first mentioned sockets, a disk, and means for securing said disk to either of said sockets. 5. An agricultural implement of the character described comprising a concavo-convex disk, a shank attached to the concave side of said disk, a handle attached to said shank, said handle being oflset from the center of said disk, and substantially at a right angle to the cutting edge thereof.

6. An agricultural implement of the character described comprising a concavo-convex disk, a shank attached to the concave side of the disk at the center of the latter, and a handle attached to said shank, said handle being offset substantially at right angles to the cutting edge of the disk.

my hand at San Francisco, Cal, this 8th In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 

